Vermont National Guard troops will face a different, possibly more dangerous mission in Afghanistan.  We learn more specifics about their mission, and how it fits within the larger U.S. strategy.  Also, an update on FairPoint's continuing problems, and using wasps to find a destructive beetle.

Congressman Peter Welch discusses the future of health care reform, whether he'll vote in favor of a bill that doesn't include a public plan and his opinion on a plan to send additional troops to Afghanistan.

Fifteen-hundred members of the Vermont Army Guard will go to Afghanistan early next year.  It will be the largest deployment of Vermont Guard members since World War II.

Senator Patrick Leahy says he got a better sense of the equipment that U.S. soldiers need to fight terrorists during a visit to Afghanistan last week. Leahy also visited Pakistan and Iraq during the trip.

A young man from Lamoille County suffered severe injuries while serving in Afghanistan late last year. But even as paralyzed veteran Andrew Parker struggles to regain mobility, his community is rallying to build him a place to come home to.

As the military and political situation in Afghanistan intensifies, Vermont troops prepare for deployment to the region.  Another Vermonter is also headed for that region: Peter Galbraith has been named deputy UN envoy in Afghanistan. Jane Lindholm talks with Galbraith about the coming surge in both military and civilian efforts and the way forward in the region.

Vermonter Peter Galbraith is headed to Afghanistan as the U.N.'s second in command. We talk with him about the region and the way forward. Also, an update on the politics of same-sex marriage in New Hampshire.

VPR's Bob Kinzel talks with Congressman Peter Welch about the nation's economic situation and how the new Federal stimulus law might benefit Vermont's renewable energy industry.

Vermont State Police say Interstate 89 has become too dangerous during winter storms; the University of Vermont will hold off on some of its budget cutting until the financial picture at the state level is clearer; more...

Congressman Peter Welch says the United States needs to define its overall goals and mission in Afghanistan before committing thousands of additional troops to that country.

Major Gregory Knight, who helped shepherd the installation of the new Vermont National Guard memorial to soldiers killed in the global war on terror explains what the site means to soldiers whose comrades were killed in action.

Laurie B. Sloane of the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Daneen Roy, whose husband is about to be deployed to Afghanistan talk with VPR's jane Lindholm about support for families with a loved one overseas.

Earlier this year, the Army announced that up to 1,900 Vermont guard members will be mobilized in 2010.  Now the guard is in the process of deciding which of its members will deploy.

Eighteen year old Shabana Basij-Rasikh is a sophomore at Middlebury College, but her home is Kabul, Afghanistan. She spoke with VPR's Jane Lindholm about the shifting situation in her country.

A small New Hampshire National Guard unit is being deployed to Afghanistan for a year.

Adjutant General Michael Dubie talks about the future of the Vermont guard – and how soldiers are preparing for a possible deployment to Afghanistan.

Plans are being drawn up for two different memorials to Vermonters killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, as VPR's Ross Sneyd reports, the public has been asked to help plan one of the monuments.

Sixteen members of the Vermont Army National Guard have been honored for their service in Afghanistan.

Here are the top stories at 7:30 a.m.: The House today overcame objections from the business community and approved a bill targeted at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant; At least three Vermonters are among U.S. service members stranded in Kuwait even though they're supposed to be headed back from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Just a under a year ago, the Vermont National Guard started a new effort to help identify whether veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq were suffering from traumatic brain injury. Over the first year of the program, its mandate and staffing have increased to deal with the large numbers of veterans who need assistance in readjusting to civilian life.